As part of our commitment to providing legal support and defense work to activists protesting against the NATO summit in Chicago, Chicago NLG will be staffing a 24-hour hotline throughout the NATO summit.
Call 312-913-0039 to report arrests, police misconduct, request legal observers, of for any other legal support needs.
Check out the latest NLG Chicago newsletter, with highlights from the 2012 Midwest Regional Conference and updates of chapter events, our Mass Defense Committee’s work, and Guild victories in the courts!Download PDF
MEDIA ADVISORY
Chicago Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild
For Immediate Release: March 27, 2012
Contact: NLG Legal Worker Kris Hermes 510-681-6361 or NLG Attorney Sarah Gelsomino 773-520-8246
More than Ninety Occupy Chicago Activists Back in Court Wednesday Seeking Dismissal of Charges
City continues to use procedural issues to drag out legal cases and duck claims of First Amendment violations
Chicago, IL— At least 94 Occupy Chicago defendants will have their day in court again Wednesday, as the city uses procedural issues to drag out the legal cases and avoid accountability for what National Lawyers Guild attorneys are saying were clear First Amendment violations. The cases stem from arrests last October of more than 300 people who were charged with violating a city-imposed curfew at Grant Park. Nearly a third of those arrested have chosen to fight their charges and are being represented by Guild attorneys and others, who will be arguing motions to dismiss on Wednesday at 1:30pm in Daley Center.What:
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“The city is showing its intolerance of the First Amendment by refusing to relent against activists arrested last year for protesting in the park,” said Sarah Gelsomino with the People’s Law Office, and one of the Guild attorneys who filed motions to dismiss on behalf of the defendants. “It’s an outrage that the city is spending precious tax-payer dollars to prosecute frivolous cases, while being unwilling to give an inch to accommodate the free speech rights of Occupy Chicago activists.”
Although hundreds of Occupy Chicago activists were arrested last year with many of them jailed for up to 24 hours, the city is now claiming that the resulting legal cases are civil, not criminal. The city is also using legal procedure to omit defendant affidavits — the statements of arrested Occupy Chicago activists — in an attempt to drag out the proceedings.
Approximately 175 people were arrested on quasi-criminal charges in the early morning hours of October 15th as activists remained protesting in the park after 11pm. A week later, on October 22nd, another 130 people were similarly arrested. Not only did the city refuse to grant Occupy Chicago an ongoing presence in any of the city’s public parks, it also has so far refused to dismiss any of the cases unless defendants agree to perform 10 hours of community service. Of the more than 90 Occupy Chicago defendants who are seeking a dismissal of their charges, more than half say they will go to trial if their motions to dismiss are denied.
“The city’s posture on the Occupy Chicago cases casts serious doubts about its respect for and ability to uphold the rights of dissidents in advance of the NATO demonstrations in May,” continued Gelsomino. Also, just last month, the city settled an NLG-led class action lawsuit for $6.2 million, in which more than 700 anti-war protesters were wrongfully arrested in 2003.
The National Lawyers Guild was founded in 1937 and is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.
Further information:
Sample NLG motion to dismiss: https://nlgchicago.org/wp-
Save the date — March 23 to March 25! Join the Midwest region of the National Lawyers Guild for our annual conference in Chicago, hosted by Chicago-Kent NLG. Join the NLG Chicago Chapter and others from the Midwest as we gather together to reflect, learn, catch up, and recharge.
This year we will be focusing on the timely issues of mass incarceration, immigration, continued attacks on workers’ rights, protest, and more! There will be informative panels as well as a choice of practical workshops in the afternoon. More than ever it is time for us to come together and rise up as basic human rights are being attacked.
